tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66322491429547676812024-03-13T22:44:04.422-04:00Avalon AuthorsSandy Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824301408180614516noreply@blogger.comBlogger579125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-656559678751734332023-04-26T11:32:00.002-04:002023-04-26T11:34:17.235-04:00A Few Words ...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgB-uj2uyKE-41QLX2tIou6Ul-c-pmgzzsOsKe-B60BJakIwxWP1uZWjrhLiKU9qdR5M3v8_4A-duTFRxpvQ4RRCWFvuozjvAvovrllL7dOGN6dxVBNtRaefs7pSLUtiYaHbWeUX2_gk-grTbNRkgZIaOhlTry_7Dnvd8h9lHc6HiqY3UjlDER2g3NQ/s305/Pavane%20for%20Miss%20Marcher%20Digital3rdEdition200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="200" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgB-uj2uyKE-41QLX2tIou6Ul-c-pmgzzsOsKe-B60BJakIwxWP1uZWjrhLiKU9qdR5M3v8_4A-duTFRxpvQ4RRCWFvuozjvAvovrllL7dOGN6dxVBNtRaefs7pSLUtiYaHbWeUX2_gk-grTbNRkgZIaOhlTry_7Dnvd8h9lHc6HiqY3UjlDER2g3NQ/s1600/Pavane%20for%20Miss%20Marcher%20Digital3rdEdition200.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">…Can make a difference.</span><p></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">After working for days on the next book in my In Maine project, I returned to <b><i>Pavane for Miss Marcher</i> </b>to make a <i>Dramatis Personae</i> to remind me of all the characters that may turn up as I write <b><i>That Kentucky Boy</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">In that prcess, I reread the entire novel and, seeing and unabashedly enjoying the story, I found errors and omissions that needed attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">That led to the necessity of a 3<sup>rd</sup> edition of the novel in print and digital.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">This edition is available now in digital format at: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H7JNMZW" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;"> as well as the many Amazon sites worldwide; </span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pavane-for-miss-marcher" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">KOBO</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">; </span><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pavane-for-miss-marcher-leigh-verrill-rhys/1126976558?ean=2940158877285" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Barnes&Noble</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">; and in print on: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pavane-Miss-Marcher-Leigh-Verrill-Rhys/dp/1958967084/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">amazon.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">/ and </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H7JNMZW" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">amazon.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">And now on </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1361985" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;"> and its many retail partners, including iBookstore and libraries. <o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Ask your librarian to order <i>Pavane for Miss Marcher, 3<sup>rd</sup> Edition</i> as an ebook through a library distributor such as <strong><span style="color: #212529;">Library Direct,</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212529;"> </span></span><strong><span style="color: #212529;">Baker & Taylor's Axis360, Gardners, OverDrive, Bibliotheca, Odilo</span></strong><span style="background: white; color: #212529;">, and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><strong><span style="color: #212529;">The Palace Project</span></strong><span style="background: white; color: #212529;">.</span></span>Leigh Verrill-Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05768398558019474096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-45493037266995775252014-01-16T21:22:00.000-05:002014-01-17T08:32:00.654-05:00An InvitationIf you follow this blog or publishing news in general, you know that Avalon Books was bought out by Amazon and Avalon books have been re-released - the romances by Montlake, mysteries by Thomas & Mercer, westerns by Encore. So, though we still maintain the friendships and ties we formed over the years, we can't really call ourselves Avalon Authors any more.<br />
<br />
We're moving on and we invite you to join us at our new blog: <strong>Classic and Cozy</strong>. <br />
<br />
Here's the link: <a href="http://www.classicandcozy.com/">http://www.classicandcozy.com/</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Classic and Cozy</strong> will feature the kind of books readers have come to expect from Avalon Authors: sweet romances, cozy mysteries and clssic westerns. While Classic and Cozy is still a work in progress, we're kind of proud of it. <br />
<br />
Please come visit us in our new home and let us know what you think. Feel free to leave a comment.<br />
<br />
Avalon Authors will still be here and past articles will remain.Sandy Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824301408180614516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-51775214067220005582013-12-23T04:44:00.000-05:002013-12-23T04:50:06.491-05:00The Night Before Christmas Eve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D_Dtk-MbT60/UrgE9Q2QVpI/AAAAAAAAAD4/paNJ-rtjLrE/s1600/NB6-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D_Dtk-MbT60/UrgE9Q2QVpI/AAAAAAAAAD4/paNJ-rtjLrE/s320/NB6-300.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
For the past twelve months, I have been writing a 6-part novel by installment: <b><i>Nights Before</i></b>. The final story,<i> 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve</i>, was released on December 17th, the anniversary of the publication of Charles Dickens's, <i><b>A Christmas Carol</b></i>.<br />
<br />
I began this novel in 2012 with <i>'Twas the Night Before New Year</i> – a romantic comedy about a young woman, Jocelyn Tavers, whose boyfriend leaves her alone on New Year's Eve to take a skiing trip. Jocelyn determines she will not face another New Year's Eve party without a date and on that first night before the New Year, she meets three eligible hopefuls, the unwise princes.<br />
<br />
Through a process of natural selection, self-inflicted disqualification and ultimate ineligibility, Jocelyn finds the love of her life and dreams, in time to secure a date for the last party night of the year. Through the year, she learns more about love and comes to understand what she really wants. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve and its five forerunners are all available on the iBookstore, Amazon, All Romance Ebooks and other major online retailers.<br />
<br />
On this day before Christmas Eve, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-5607941860583705422013-11-09T16:01:00.000-05:002013-11-09T16:01:18.223-05:00Thank You, Montlake Press<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jmrwjl7brIo/Un6iYckL1JI/AAAAAAAAAlc/I62gOHW6gIY/s1600/The+Gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_325504="null" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jmrwjl7brIo/Un6iYckL1JI/AAAAAAAAAlc/I62gOHW6gIY/s320/The+Gift.jpg" width="213" zsa="true" /></a></div>
It's been about a year and a half since Amazon acquired Avalon Books, my former publisher. To be honest, I hadn't expected that those five books would see the light of day again. Boy! Was I wrong about that.<br /> As you can imagine, it's been a huge undertaking for Amazon's Montlake division (romance) to get a handle on all those books. As one of their many authors, I requested that they consider creating new covers for my books.<br /> Just today, Montlake has completed the new designs and uploaded them to the Amazon sales pages. They've done a great job in branding my books so they're recognizable as being from the same author. Great job, Montlake.<br /> My worst cover - hands down - was for my last book with Avalon: The Gift. It actually came in second in a contest for worst covers ever! Here's the new cover they designed. So attractive... and it's actually a scene from the book. I've always liked this story; it takes place just north of where I live now, on a large lake in Central British Columbia known all over North America for houseboating.<br /> If you'd like to check it out, here's the link on Amazon.<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Gift-ebook/dp/B00A9TOWJC/"><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.amazon.com/The-Gift-ebook/dp/B00A9TOWJC/</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span> Mona Ingramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15900341184096736960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-42183016895215920662013-10-30T20:36:00.002-04:002013-10-30T20:36:58.193-04:00A PROUD TIP OF THE HAT TO OUR CANADIAN AUTHORS<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YYfPodWQQg8/UnF0ZNnW0xI/AAAAAAAAAnI/s1lqUfqsuoY/s1600/Alice+Munro.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YYfPodWQQg8/UnF0ZNnW0xI/AAAAAAAAAnI/s1lqUfqsuoY/s1600/Alice+Munro.png" /></a>As a contributor to this blog, I get to rub shoulders (cyberly speaking) with authors from around the world. <strong>Our group consists of writers from the U. S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, and Australia</strong> – a pretty good representation of the globe’s surface and there may be others that I've either forgotten or don't know about.<br />
<br />
<strong>We come from different places, but we all root for each other so we were all thrilled for our Canadian sisters (Mona Ingram and Cheryl Cooke Harrington), when we learned that Alice Munro had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. </strong>I’m not saying that I wouldn’t be pleased about the award if I didn’t know any Canadians − just that being friends with them made me feel connected to the honor. <br />
<br />
I’m not an authority on Ms. Munro’s work, but I’ve read enough of her stories to appreciate that the prize was well-bestowed. She has a gift for capturing in a short story enough of the human condition to fill a very long, very complex novel. The stories with which I am familiar are set in rural communities and are filled with subtle details that put the reader <em>right there</em>. The characters are a mixture of strength and frailty, good and bad, wise and foolish. In short, they are very <em>human</em> human beings, people with whom I found it easy to identify. While Munro never beats a reader over the head with a message, most of her stories have that moment of clarity that literary folks like to call an epiphany. I'll just say that I find them satisfying reads.<br />
<br />
So … <strong>kudos to the writers of Canada, past and present. You contribute much to the world of literature.</strong> <br />
<br />
<strong>Cheryl Cooke Harrington</strong> (more about her later), told me that “way, way back in 1884, early Canadian romance author, <strong>Margaret Marshall Saunders</strong> wrote <strong><em>Beautiful Joe</em></strong>, a story about her dog. It became the first Canadian book to sell more than a million copies.” (That's a lot of books. I'm trying not to be envious.)<br />
<br />
<strong>Mona Ingram</strong> (more about her later too) credits<strong> Mordecai Richler’s <em>The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz</em> </strong>as the book that gave her an appreciation of a good story, well told.<br />
<br />
Other Canadian authors I’ve enjoyed over the years are<strong> Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Robertson Davies,</strong> and<strong> Lucy Maude Montgomery.</strong> How I loved<strong><em> Anne of Green Gables</em></strong>! An older cousin passed the Anne books along to me and I read/re-read them until they literally fell apart.<br />
<br />
Helping to carry on this proud tradition are two authors we claim as part of our tribe:<br />
<br />
<strong>Cheryl Cooke Harrington</strong> (Toronto) website: <a href="http://www.cchweb.com/">http://www.cchweb.com</a> Here's the blurb for Cheryl’s latest book, <strong><em>Sparks Fly</em></strong>. <a href="http://amzn.to/Hv6z8n">http://amzn.to/Hv6z8n</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2CmmkkzmtEE/UnGjhGYgc5I/AAAAAAAAAng/-ZXMoYTQZHc/s1600/SparksFly1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2CmmkkzmtEE/UnGjhGYgc5I/AAAAAAAAAng/-ZXMoYTQZHc/s1600/SparksFly1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2CmmkkzmtEE/UnGjhGYgc5I/AAAAAAAAAng/-ZXMoYTQZHc/s200/SparksFly1.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue;">What happens when a thoroughly modern woman, longing to return to her roots, meets an old-fashioned hero on her first day home? Sparks Fly. And it doesn't take a forest fire, smoldering in the distance, to turn up the heat between high school science teacher Logan Paris and bush pilot Mitchell Walker.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Logan's dream of a bright future for her grandfather's lodge at remote Thembi Lake hits an unexpected snag when Gramps introduces the handsome pilot as his new partner. It seems that Mitch has plans of his own for Casey Lodge, and Logan is certain they don't include a partnership with a "city girl." Determined to prove herself and protect her heritage, Logan sets out to unravel the many mysteries of Mitch Walker. Where did he come from? Why is Gramps so willing to trust him with the future? And most disturbing of all ... what's she going to do about the undeniable attraction she feels whenever he's around?</span><br />
<br />
<strong>and</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Mona Ingram</strong> (Vancouver) website: <a href="http://monaingram.com/">http://monaingram.com</a> Mona’s latest release is <strong><em>The Last Goodbye.</em></strong> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G4QWWMI">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G4QWWMI</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BKKDNjL0HPU/UnF0_Oso4-I/AAAAAAAAAnQ/g-wfeDH-GBc/s1600/Goodbyex200pxw%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BKKDNjL0HPU/UnF0_Oso4-I/AAAAAAAAAnQ/g-wfeDH-GBc/s200/Goodbyex200pxw%5B1%5D.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Everyone Danielle Flynn has ever loved has left her without saying goodbye. When her Uncle Jake allows his friend Sean’s production company to shoot on his ranch, she fights her attraction to the movie’s director, Grayson Crawford. After all, Grayson is heading back to California once filming is over, and she has no intention of letting him take her heart when he leaves... with or without a goodbye. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">To make things worse, her Uncle Jake, a confirmed bachelor, starts acting like a teenager every time he’s around Carmen Santangelo, the woman who plays the mother of one of the actors. But when Carmen is offered the role of a lifetime, it’s a stark reminder that she and Jake come from two separate worlds. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Torn between her love of Green Lake Ranch and her growing feelings for Grayson, Danielle learns the difference between what’s important in life, and what’s make believe.</span><br />
<br />
<strong>Again – kudos, Canadian writers – and thank you! You’ve given me hours of pleasure.</strong><br />
<br />Sandy Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824301408180614516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-4390529760358646312013-10-03T22:11:00.004-04:002013-10-03T22:11:24.505-04:00Need an Antidote for the News of the World?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8CTfyfhU5A/Uk4jNulUczI/AAAAAAAAFo4/IoO1MxPYZ8w/s1600/WEB-Ashworth-LordWhoSneered-FrontCover-FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8CTfyfhU5A/Uk4jNulUczI/AAAAAAAAFo4/IoO1MxPYZ8w/s320/WEB-Ashworth-LordWhoSneered-FrontCover-FINAL.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">My regency holiday anthology is just the ticket! The Lord Who Sneered and Other Tales, three heart-warming stories that will help you remember the important things in life. Click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Sneered-Other-Tales-ebook/dp/B00FJAUQLO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1380834441&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lord+who+sneered"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> to buy or borrow.</span>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660156433881882098noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-63903057442874899492013-10-01T11:50:00.000-04:002013-10-01T14:18:18.465-04:00Thinking of Self-Publishing?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowComments/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
SO YOU WANT TO
SELF-PUBLISH part 1</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not too long ago Avalon was sold to Amazon and whether we
were ready or not, many of us went digital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some people want a publisher to take care of all the other work while
they just concentrate on the writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others embrace the Do-It-Yourself freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it’s easy to be confused with the
technology and requirements involved in self-publishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The knowledgeable and talented Amanda Church of <a href="http://nytshadow.com/" target="_blank">Nytshadow Designs</a> has kindly offered to answer
some of the basic questions over the next weeks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q: Let’s suppose a writer has completed a novel and wants to
publish it herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s the first thing an author should do before
starting the process of self-publishing?</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: You should have a clean, proofed, edited copy of your
book. After you’ve done the final edits and made a last pass through the
manuscript with a fine tooth comb for typos, punctuation, grammar, etc., go
through it again. Print it out and look at it. So many things can be missed by
looking at a manuscript on a computer screen. The first book I published I
thought was squeaky clean. I initially published a print version through
CreateSpace (Amazon). When I got the proof copy, I nearly died. There were
broken sentences, or indents that didn't belong where they were and some were missing elsewhere. I never noticed
any of these things on the computer screen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you don’t have the critical eye for detail, spend the
money to hire an editor or find a friend who can read meticulously. As long as
it’s someone who can be objective, not necessarily of the content, but of the
way it is presented. By the time you finish a book, you’ve been living with it for
so long, you often can’t see the forest for the trees. Your mind tells you what
it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should</i> say rather than what it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i> say. If you don’t have anyone to
look at it and can’t afford an editor, put the manuscript away for a few weeks
then come back to it fresh. I often trick my mind by pretending to read it as
if I’m someone else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowComments/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: With a clean copy of the manuscript, what's next?</span></b></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A: Once you’ve made the decision to self-publish
digitally, it should be converted from your word processing program into a format
that's appropriate for a reading device. Some sites will do this for
you. Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo do convert a doc file into a
format they want. There are other sites, termed distributors, like <a href="http://smashwords.com/" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> or <a href="http://drafttodigital.com/" target="_blank">Draft to Digital</a> who will convert your manuscript into the formats required by the sites where you would like to sell your book and submit the book to those sites. You need not do anything else. Go to these sites and read their FAQ. That will help you make up your mind.</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a popular choice for many. Some people want to be in full control and do it themselves or they</span> may find someone <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">who will provide the formatting service for a relatively small price.</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The goal is to have a sharp, well-formatted ebook. Readers are paying to enjoy your book, not deal with formatting issues such as scene breaks that seem like the end of a chapter but aren't. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rV4O2x47Ces/UkrhD_wbo3I/AAAAAAAAEnA/nDvk4aean4g/s1600/sigilblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rV4O2x47Ces/UkrhD_wbo3I/AAAAAAAAEnA/nDvk4aean4g/s400/sigilblog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowComments/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q: Please explain the different formats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can a book purchased on Amazon be read on a
Nook?</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Amazon uses the proprietary MOBI format. All other
eReaders (Nook, Kobo, Sony, Apple, etc.) use the more generic EPUB format. While an EPUB file can be read across
multiple eReader devices, it cannot be read on Kindle, nor can a MOBI file be
read on other eReader devices unless you have an application installed that will enable you to do so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Thank you, Amanda. The next installment will provide even more information about the journey to publishing in the digital world. </i></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-36469834747438020122013-09-28T22:08:00.002-04:002013-09-28T22:08:34.957-04:00Mango KissesMy next book for Escape Publishing will be released on November 1st. Escape is a Harlequin Australia digital only publishing house and Mango Kisses is my third book for them.<br />
<br />
I was always very lucky with my Avalon covers. Two of them (The Right Chord and The Wedding Party) won RWAustralia cover contests!<br />
<br />
The Mango Kisses cover is plain gorgeous :) It's the first kiss scene, in the rain on the beach front and I think it has an old movie feel to it. A touch of Gene Kelly perhaps? What do you think?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vm-n4Ycaj6s/UkeK7DQRorI/AAAAAAAAARM/JsVD5ubmN-k/s1600/Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vm-n4Ycaj6s/UkeK7DQRorI/AAAAAAAAARM/JsVD5ubmN-k/s320/Cover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
You can preorder a copy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mango-Kisses-ebook/dp/B00FB3MWMU%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAJBDF5XQBATGDX4VQ%26tag%3Dspea06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00FB3MWMU" target="_blank">here</a>Elisabeth Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847216542954007974noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-20949394565660818972013-09-14T12:14:00.000-04:002013-09-14T12:14:37.747-04:00Kudos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-czG6cbJMTaw/UjSLBjThFDI/AAAAAAAAAkc/bV7kdpu3iEw/s1600/Goodbyex200pxw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_494815="null" isa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-czG6cbJMTaw/UjSLBjThFDI/AAAAAAAAAkc/bV7kdpu3iEw/s1600/Goodbyex200pxw.jpg" /></a></div>
How refreshing. Sometimes I feel that all I do is talk about myself... mainly my books. Sure, I want you to like them enough to buy them, but first they have to catch your eye, and that's where my cover designer, Suzie O'Connell comes in.<br /><br />Suzie has done quite a few of my covers. You can probably tell which ones; they stand out from the others. I met her through a writer's group, where she did a quick cover concept for someone else, and I fell in love with what I think of as her "brush-stroke" style. She uses this effect cleverly, sometimes blurring the otherwise hard edges of an image, or to create a plain background for title/author name, and other times the 'brush strokes' blend two images together.<br /><br />Today I'm debuting the new cover Suzie has created for Book Two in my series The Women of Independence. I was torn between two breathtaking images, one with a sunburst, and one with the image of the woman on the horse. Suzie combined the two images and I'm sure you'll agree the finished product is amazing.<br /><br />I'm still writing the story, but the work has become much easier now that I have this lovely image sitting beside my computer. If you haven't read the first book in the series, it's called Loving From Afar. Guess who did the cover art?<br />Loving From Afar links:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; font-size: 12pt;">US Link:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DGFXDLO"><span style="color: #7e7e7e;">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DGFXDLO</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; font-size: 12pt;">UK Link:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DGFXDLO"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DGFXDLO</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Suzie's website: <a href="http://www.suzieoconnell.com/indieproud/servicesandprices.html"><span style="color: #7e7e7e;">http://www.suzieoconnell.com/indieproud/servicesandprices.html</span></a><br />Mona Ingramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15900341184096736960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-66665811727418636792013-09-11T10:43:00.001-04:002013-09-11T15:07:13.190-04:00Best Ever Plotting Advice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8jTxyIICYUo/Ui9G8utnVTI/AAAAAAAAAl8/Tcl5jMyIWq8/s1600/fish1.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" isa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8jTxyIICYUo/Ui9G8utnVTI/AAAAAAAAAl8/Tcl5jMyIWq8/s320/fish1.tif" width="204" /></a></div>
The best plotting advice I ever got came from a most unlikely source - a rambuctious four-year-old. I took care of my grandson, Sean, a couple of days a week from the time he was an infant until he was in kindergarten and, joyful though the experience was, it was exhausting. He was obsessed with Indians at the time. (No, we didn't use the term Native Americans. In fact, I looked up the term after noticing that writers like Alexie Sherman always referred to themselves as Indians, but that's another story for another time.) Before I degress even further, I'll get back to the Best Ever Plotting Advice.<br />
<br />
From the time he could speak, Sean's favorite games involved role-playing. His favorite weekend activity was fishing with his dad. On Mondays, it became our tradition to remove the sofa cushions so that the sofa became a canoe. From that makeshift canoe, Sean caught fish that would make Moby Dick look like a minnow. But far and away his favorite role was that of an Indian brave named Fierce Eagle. My roles in these games changed from day to day, sometimes minute to minute. Fierce Eagle's favorite pastime was hunting buffalo. Guess who was cast as the buffalo? In this scenario, I crawled around the house on all fours while Fierce Eagle hid around corners and behind furniture, bow and arrow at the ready. Sometimes I was a greedy paleface who had cheated Fierce Eagle's people out of their land. Other days, I was a horse thief, a treaty breaker, a violator of sacred burial ground, a railroad builder. Name any crime against the Indian nations, I committed it. I was a thoroughly dispicable character. <br />
<br />
For these offenses, I was tied to chairs with shoelaces, shot with rubber-tipped arrows, scalped with a plastic knife ... the list goes on. As I said, it was exhausting - and hard on my grandmotherly knees. One day in what I thought was a moment of genius, I told him the story of Chief Joseph. Afterwards, I said, "Sean, why don't we pretend to be a different kind of Indian today? Let's be wise, old chiefs and teach our people to live in peace and harmony. <br />
<br />
It took him about five seconds (no more than that) to answer: "Grandma, <b>peace and harmony are boring!"</b><br />
<br />
There you have it. <b>Best Ever Plotting Advice. Don't bore your reader. Worry them. Happily ever after is nice, but make them earn it.<br />
</b><br />
<br />
http://www.sandracareycody.com<br />
<br />
http://amzn.to/wxIV81Sandy Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824301408180614516noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-45208131632770516032013-08-23T18:51:00.000-04:002013-08-23T18:51:03.896-04:00The (co)Writing Life<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>"How do you write with a co-author?"</em> Readers and writers alike seem curious about the co-authoring experience. It certainly tops my most-asked list, right up there with, <em>"where do you get your ideas?"</em> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Writing tends to be a solitary pursuit and we writers are often perceived as anti-social or, at the very least, somewhat peculiar of habit, so it's not surprising that the idea of collaboration between two such odd creatures is met with some fascination. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those who know the two of us well won't argue with the "odd creatures" or "peculiar of habit" labels. Anne and I wear them proudly. A shared sense of humour helps, as does a willingness to listen and negotiate. <span style="color: black;">Ego becomes (w)ego in the story-building process.</span> You might think proximity is important, too, but when Anne and I were writing together full-time we lived in different cities, hours apart. This made logistics, shall we say, <em>interesting</em>. Here's how it worked for us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like most writers, our stories began with the germ of an idea – sometimes a character, sometimes a situation – and the Big <span style="background-color: white;">Question</span>: <em>what if…?</em> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At our first in-person meeting, we would brainstorm the possibilities, develop a cast of characters, outline a very rough plot, and together write the first few pages of chapter one. This process involved the better part of a weekend, a borrowed office in a town mid-way between our homes, at least one bottle of wine (maybe it was a bottle each, my memory is foggy on that point), and a lot of laughter. By the end of that initial meeting, we knew our characters and our setting and had a good idea of where the story would take us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From that point on, we alternated chapters. One of us would finish the rough first draft of chapter one and send it on its way to the other. She would read and comment on that draft and pick up the story at chapter two. We were never strict about the switchover and would often carry on into the next chapter if the featured character was one with whom we felt a particular affinity. In the end the division of work was surprisingly equal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We'd meet again after the half-way point to thrash out tricky plot problems, smooth out transitions, refine our synopsis and, yes, do a little more drinking and laughing before getting back to our long distance writing relationship. We became each other's most trusted critics and by the time we wrote "the end" our story had been thoroughly edited, proofed and polished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> There are always surprises in writing <span style="color: black;">– characters do and say the most unexpected things –</span> but the co-writing process is particularly dynamic. The anticipation of that next, unknown chapter kept the story fresh and exciting for us. Our combined author voice is distinctly different from our individual voices and many readers have said they can't identify who wrote what. For a writing team, that's the best of all compliments. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our new publisher, <span style="color: black;">Montlake Romance</span>, has re-released two Avalon Romances by Anne Norman and Cheryl Cooke Harrington for Kindle. We hope you'll check them out and let us know what you think. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://authl.it/B00E6BRMLE?d" target="_blank"><strong>ROCK SOLID</strong></a> – small town landscape architect meets her match in an abandoned quarry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://authl.it/B00E6BRMMS?d" target="_blank"><strong>FAST FOCUS</strong></a> – photographer tangles with kidnappers in a lively New York City caper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JhEoULIu-bU/UhflzxvnQUI/AAAAAAAAAQU/h2iUhlTg4fk/s1600/cover-duo-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Rock Solid and Fast Focus, by Cheryl Cooke Harrington and Anne Norman" border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JhEoULIu-bU/UhflzxvnQUI/AAAAAAAAAQU/h2iUhlTg4fk/s320/cover-duo-lg.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03318669399845377640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-28582793309603241712013-08-21T12:49:00.000-04:002013-08-21T14:08:31.853-04:00Writing Books Is Easy. Selling Books Is Hard!Everyone seems to have one "good" book in them so we have all these "good" books flooding onto Amazon. Panic! How will our books be found?<br />
<br />
A word was invented. Discoverability! So freebie giveaways of books, jewelry, kindles and tablets and book tours and begging for reviews arose. Did they work? Everything works for someone. The issue is that they don't work across the board for everyone.<br />
<br />
What to do? What to do? The common wisdom will tell you you have to have a book launch and a huge mailing list and a large following on Facebook and you have to Tweet a whole lot. Then you get Bookbub to send out a huge blast and you give away 80,000 copies and hope for sales. As I said, it works for some.<br />
<br />
We need to know what works for most.<br />
<br />
I became friends with someone in my category, equestrian sports, who writes for a slightly younger audience. We talked a lot. Maggie LOVES the telephone! I watched what she does and it all started to make sense to me.<br />
<br />
Here's the main rule--in my universe. Feel free to ignore it.<br />
1) Write what people want to read.<br />
2) Publish.<br />
3) Rinse and repeat.<br />
<br />
This month I published Book 3 in my series. Last weekend this is what the bestseller category looked like<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a-I6WsnIE74/UhToYUJzLUI/AAAAAAAAEgk/PYNMJ47t7Xs/s1600/BFshattrick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a-I6WsnIE74/UhToYUJzLUI/AAAAAAAAEgk/PYNMJ47t7Xs/s400/BFshattrick.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I wrote the books and published them. They all cost $2.99. There will be no freebies or discounts. I have 2 people on my mailing list who I notified. I posted a notice on the Bittersweet Farm Facebook page, and a notice on my blog. I don't have a big following. I put a notice on my other pages at Amazon that this one would be released on Aug. 3. That's it.<br />
<br />
Today this is where Wingspread is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li id="SalesRank">
<b>Amazon Best Sellers Rank:</b>
#7,671 Paid in Kindle Store <ul class="zg_hrsr">
<li class="zg_hrsr_item">
<span class="zg_hrsr_rank">#1</span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_1">Kindle Store</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_2">Kindle eBooks</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/157325011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_3">Nonfiction</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/159818011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_4">Sports</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/159848011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_5">Individual Sports</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/159855011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_6">Horses</a> > <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/159856011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_7_last">Equestrian</a></b></span>
</li>
<li class="zg_hrsr_item">
<span class="zg_hrsr_rank">#1</span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-books-Amazon/zgbs/books/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_1">Books</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/26/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_2">Sports & Outdoors</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/16533/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_3">Individual Sports</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/16560/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_4">Horses</a> > <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/16562/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_5_last">Equestrian</a></b></span>
</li>
<li class="zg_hrsr_item">
<span class="zg_hrsr_rank">#1</span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_1">Kindle Store</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_2">Kindle eBooks</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/3511261011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_3">Teen & Young Adult</a> > <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/7006684011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_4_last">Sports & Outdoors</a></b></span>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">Amazon's search engine is probably the best in the world. People will find you. Choose your categories and keywords wisely. If you have a good blurb, a good cover, and a good sample, you've probably made a sale. You don't have to do anything else. </span><br />
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">You're screaming "Smartypants. Write what people want to read, how do you know?"</span><br />
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">What do you want in a book? Something that tells a good story, that isn't like everything else, that treats the audience with respect, that is well thought out, well conceived from beginning to end. That doesn't mean just the writing, it means everything.</span><br />
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">My pal <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maggie-Dana/e/B001KHNXR4/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1377107061&sr=1-2-ent" target="_blank">Maggie Dana</a>, the author of Timber Ridge Riders, also a book designer and she generously offered to format Bittersweet 1 for paper publication. We have gone through the manuscript with the fine tooth comb. We discussed an equestrian term cross ties. Is is cross-ties, cross ties or crossties. We looked at each comma, each curly quote, we researched whether the titles of plays should be italicized. The ebook is perfect, the paper version will be perfect and to the same standards Maggie would turn in when she works for St. Martins.</span><br />
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">You probably have a sense of who your audience is. Maybe you've gotten a note from a reader. Maybe you had a review tell you something.</span><br />
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span>
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">Here's a review that told me something important:</span><br />
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;">
<span style="margin-left: -5px;"><img alt="5.0 out of 5 stars" border="0" height="12" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/customer-reviews/stars-5-0._V192240867_.gif" title="5.0 out of 5 stars" width="64" /> </span>
<b>Barbara Morgenroth is a great writer.</b>, <nobr>June 20, 2013</nobr>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;">
<div>
<div style="float: left;">
By </div>
<div style="float: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A2U6WDHL03S5Y4/ref=cm_cr_rdp_pdp"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Elizabeth</span></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;">
<span class="crVerifiedStripe"><b class="h3color tiny" style="margin-right: 0.5em;">Amazon Verified Purchase</b><span class="tiny verifyWhatsThis">(<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase" target="AmazonHelp">What's this?</a>)</span></span>
</div>
<div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;">
<b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span>Bittersweet Farm 2: Joyful Spirit (Kindle Edition)</b>
</div>
Absolutely loved it, a great read! Even at the age of 61, I am still as horsemad as ever. Brilliant.<br />
<br />
Wait! This woman is 61. The books are for Young Adults! What's happening???<br />
What's happening is that Amazon makes it possible for readers to find what they want to read. It's not about age groups anymore. It's about high quality storytelling presented as well as you possibly can.<br />
<br />
Do that and people will find you. They didn't find me with book 1, I wrote book 2 and I started to get found. Book 3 changed everything. There is no better publicity than being #1. There is no better way to be found than to simply publish at Amazon.<br />
<br />
If you've written what people want to read you will sell books.<br />
<br />
<br />
P.S. Maggie proofread this for me and made changes ;-)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"> </span>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-65641065683659243342013-08-20T09:19:00.000-04:002013-08-20T09:22:46.106-04:00Free For AllFree books are loss-leaders! Even drug dealers know this. Give the first hit free and the customer will return for more. Free books are publicity. You work will get greater visibility. Giving away copies introduces readers to your work. If they read one and enjoy it, they will go on to read your others.<br />
<br />
Is this true anymore? Let's say that's true and is the argument for freebies. Let's look at what the argument could be against free giveaways.<br />
<br />
Does the proliferation of free books encourage readers to undervalue the writer's work? There are groups on Goodreads specifically for free books. They designate books they want to read and wait for them to go free. Do free books teach readers they don't have to pay for an author's work? You can ponder that for yourself.<br />
<br />
Do freebies work better for some categories and not others? Do freebies work best for a series rather than standalones? What percentage of sales can you expect from a giveaway?<br />
<br />
Everyone has a somewhat different experience but there are some commonalities reported. Books in hot categories do better no matter what. Standalones do less well leading readers to your other work. Having the first book in the series free is a gateway to the other books in the series so the wisdom says. Sales after a giveaway or from a book that is permanently free is about 5%. If you giveaway 100 books you will sell 5 or less. It's true, those were 5 books you might not have sold otherwise. Is it worth it? You can decide that for yourself.<br />
<br />
The effects of a giveaway are not long lasting. What used to be a permanent rise, became a bump and now is reported to last days. Just when writers think they know what to do, Amazon changes its algorithm. What is an algorithm? It's a computer program that sees what customers have been browsing. It finds patterns in that
behavior and shows customers more of what the computer thinks you might also be interested in. Hence the books that appear on your page that are designated as "Customers also bought..." Alsobots.<br />
<br />
The algorithm working for you can be a fire hose of sales. Against you, it's like the faucet being turned off. This is out of your control completely. <br />
<br />
Running a freebie, having a book in KDP Select or setting your book to perma-free by pricing it at $0 elsewhere and forcing Amazon to price-match it, is something you should try. Experience is the best teacher.<br />
<br />
In February I was able to put my mature young adult book, Bad Apple, on perma-free. As the first book in the series, I believed it would lead to sales of the others. Thousands of books have been given away been February and yesterday, resulting in a couple hundred sales and a couple ridiculous reviews. As an earthquake happened at Amazon, changing categories and disrupting rankings, I was in the process of removing my book from perma-free. Why? I'm glad I had the experience but it wasn't worth it to me.<br />
<br />
If someone wants to consume a Big Mac, they pay for it. If someone wants to consume my book, I should be paid for the time, effort and life experience that went into its creation.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-le7lQSea3Ng/UhNmXyzgb8I/AAAAAAAAEgQ/srT4UzkOpXI/s1600/ba1sweetsigil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-le7lQSea3Ng/UhNmXyzgb8I/AAAAAAAAEgQ/srT4UzkOpXI/s320/ba1sweetsigil.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-89084082591258261352013-08-16T10:00:00.000-04:002013-08-17T07:43:45.729-04:00<br />
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><em><a data-mce-href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Gwens-Honor.jpg" href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Gwens-Honor.jpg"><img alt="Gwens Honor" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5051" data-mce-src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Gwens-Honor-300x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Gwens-Honor-300x300.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: default; float: left;" width="300" /></a></em></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><em>Gwen’s Honor</em> by Sandra Wilkins (January 2013)</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<em><strong>Gwen Sanders never imagined that her dream of writing a novel would disrupt her engagement and force her to choose an inconceivable path. Although engaged to Walter Manning for more than two years, she has lived away from him and worked as a society reporter for the Shawnee Globe. But an unexpected reconnection with the handsome Josh Flynn, her childhood sweetheart, leads to jealousy from Walter. Gwen insists that she loves Walter and would never be so dishonorable as to break off her engagement…Yet she can't brush off the feeling that her lack of enthusiasm and mounting pressure from wedding preparations are pointing her in a different direction—one that would shake her comfortable life to its foundation. Faced with an impossible decision, Gwen must choose between honor and love in this historical romance set in the Oklahoma Territory.</strong></em></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Sandra Wilkins is an author whose passion for historical fiction has led her to write the kind of romantic novels that reflect the wholesome values found in Oklahoma at the turn of the last century. <i>Gwen’s Honor </i>is the third novel in The Heartland Romance Series from Montlake Romance. The entire series is set in Shawnee just before statehood came to Oklahoma. The first installment, <i>Ada’s Heart</i>, follows an actress, Ada Marsh, who quits her old way of life and befriends two other young women, Rose Dennis and Gwen Sanders. <i>Rose’s Hope </i>continues with their friendship while Rose decides whether to turn her hopes toward a grieving widower with an infant or to another more persistent suitor. <i>Gwen’s Honor </i>continues the journey as Gwen is forced to choose between society’s expectations and her true feelings.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Sandra says that her aim when she writes is to take her readers back to a simpler time while also showing them how life today still parallels that of the past. I am so pleased she has decided to join me on the Casting Couch today because I want to learn more about how she puts together stories that illustrate this.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Welcome Sandra. I am intrigued by the sentiment behind your determination to write historical fiction. What prompted the idea for this book?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><strong>Gwen’s Honor is the third and final book in the Heartland Series. The others are <em>Ada’s Heart </em>and <em>Rose’s Hope </em>. These are the first two novels I wrote and had published. I came up with the idea for the series many years ago when I worked at an independent book store. I had two good friends I worked with, and thought strong friendships would be a good basis for a set of stories. The three of us were the inspiration for my three main characters—Ada, Rose and Gwen. But I must say that my characters soon became their own women. I love sweet historical romances, so I picked the setting in a real town I know well, Shawnee, Oklahoma, and placed the books in the few years before Oklahoma became a state.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>That is so interesting. I love that you based the idea for the series on your own life experiences and set it in a familiar place. That must make it special for you. Did you work through the plot first and then cast the characters, or was it characters first?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">It was definitely the characters first for me. I may not have every trait or flaw figured out when I begin, but I can see them in my mind’s eye. I normally create my characters first. I’ll have a few ideas for scenes when I start (and write them down so I don’t forget) and I'll know generally where I want the story to end. Then I try to connect scenes that I see in my head.</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Can you give an example of this technique from a published story?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">When I began to write <em>Gwen’s Honor</em>, I had a pivotal scene in mind toward the middle of the book where Josh, her childhood sweetheart, tells her about his feelings, but I had to figure out how to write around it so he didn’t look like a cad or she didn’t seem like a loose woman. It was important to me that she maintained her honor throughout the book.</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>It sounds as if you had a very clear idea of 'who' Gwen was right from the start. Which characters were the hardest for you to develop and why?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">For me, it’s usually the secondary characters. I don’t always know how much they’re going to be involved with things so I have to figure them out as I go along. As far as individuals go, however, in this book it was Gwen’s fiancé, Walter Manning, who was the most difficult. As I wrote about him in all three stories, I tried to figure him out. I didn’t want him to appear too mean or unsympathetic, but I also didn’t want readers to feel too sorry for him either.</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Mmm. Now you have me intrigued. It doesn't sound as if Walter Manning is the hero! How did you decide how Walter and the rest of your characters should look? Did pictures inspire you or did you just rely on an active imagination? Maybe you even based them on someone you know or someone you saw walking down the street. Do tell! </strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">Besides the three main characters, others are usually just figments of my imagination, BUT when I wrote <em>Gwen’s Honor</em> I had a definite person in mind. I admire Josh Groban’s singing and even used the mood from some of his songs as inspiration for scenes, so when I needed a handsome, confident young man to come back into Gwen’s life, I just had to use Groban’s good looks and even his first name—Josh. Hope he doesn’t mind!</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"> He wouldn't be good inspirational hero material if he did Sandra. How did you develop the character traits of everyone in the book? I know some people use Tarot or Astrology. Others produce detailed life histories. One writer I interviewed is so organized she even uses a Goal, Motivation and Conflict chart. What about you?</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">I’m not that organized for sure! I mainly just figure it out as I go along</span>.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>That's a bit like getting to know real people and gradually learning what they're like. What about their goals though? All characters have goals. Can you sum your characters’ goals in a word or two, or are they multi-layered? Did they keep to their original goals or did things change as you wrote the book? If they did, then please give some examples.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><strong>In <em>Gwen’s Honor</em>, Gwen knew she needed to return to her hometown where her fiancé was waiting, but she had the goal of writing her first novel. In the story we see how she accomplishes it, but then her life takes a turn that she never would have imagined for herself. I, of course, knew what was going to happen to her.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"> </span>Motives drive a character so how did you discover your characters’ specific motives? Were they based on back-story or did they develop as you wrote the book, the same as their characters did? </strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">That’s an interesting question. I don’t imagine I put that much thought into it, really. It’s a little of both for me. Gwen’s back-story had a huge role to play in her life though.</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong> Given that you had already written about her in two previous books I can see how that would be the case. So, last but not least, do you like the characters in your book? Are they people you would want to spend time with and if so, which one is your favourite, and which one would you most like to meet and why? That might be the same person of course, but there again, it might not! </strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">I do like my characters! Some are sweet, some are talented, some are funny. Gwen, Josh and her cousin, Luke, are my favorites. I’d love to have them over for some good old-fashioned cookin’ and listen to them joke around—after all they’re much funnier than I am!</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>You seem to know them so well in your mind that you can probably almost imagine what that would be like anyway Sandra. Thanks so much for sitting on the Casting Couch. It's been fun getting to know you and the characters in <em>Gwen's Honor</em>.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
<strong> * * *</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><a data-mce-href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/0050.jpg" href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/0050.jpg"><img alt="0050" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5047" data-mce-src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/0050-300x200.jpg" height="200" src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/0050-300x200.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: default; float: left;" width="300" /></a></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Sandra Wilkins always wanted to be a writer. She wrote her first novel in high school, and tried to polish it and get it published for years. After several rejections she put that book aside and, instead, came up with the idea for <em>The Heartland Romance Series</em>. Which just goes to show that persistence pays off in the long run. </strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Nowadays she is a home schooling mother of two daughters who finds time to write in spare moments. She has now begun a new series set in historic Chandler, Oklahoma, and is enjoying inventing new characters and stories.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<em><strong>Gwen's Honor </strong></em><strong>is available at </strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Gwens-Honor-Heartland-Romance-ebook/dp/B008RBT4JM" href="http://www.amazon.com/Gwens-Honor-Heartland-Romance-ebook/dp/B008RBT4JM">http://www.amazon.com/Gwens-Honor-Heartland-Romance-ebook/dp/B008RBT4JM</a></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Sheila Claydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499631964600996650noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-44768695563762895262013-08-12T00:30:00.000-04:002013-08-12T05:50:10.561-04:00Only 3 Days Left to Win a Copy of Mandy and the MayorLooking for a fun clean romance? "Opposites attract and Ms. Gordon's
highly entertaining novel of love lends a new twist to an age-old
theme." <br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
Faith V. Smith -- From the Romantic Times </div>
<br />
To celebrate the Kindle release of MANDY AND THE MAYOR, I'm giving away three hardcover copies on Goodreads. Or leave a comment here for a change to win a Kindle or Nook version.<br />
<br />
<div id="goodreadsGiveawayWidget60335">
<!-- Show static html as a placeholder in case js is not enabled -->
<br />
<div class="goodreadsGiveawayWidget" style="border-radius: 10px; border: 2px solid #EBE8D5; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 350px; padding: 10px 15px;">
<style>
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px;
font-style: normal; background: white; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important;
text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;
border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;
background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_button4.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596;
outline: 0; white-space: nowrap;
}
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_button4_hover.gif);
color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;
}
</style>
<br />
<h2 style="color: #555555; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0 0 10px !important; padding: 0 !important; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_new">Goodreads</a> Book Giveaway
</h2>
<div style="float: left;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/747288"><img alt="Mandy and the Mayor by Jean C. Gordon" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1177979283l/747288.jpg" title="Mandy and the Mayor by Jean C. Gordon" width="100" /></a>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0 0 0 110px !important; padding: 0 0 0 0 !important;">
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/747288">Mandy and the Mayor</a>
</h3>
<h4 style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0;">
by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/395675.Jean_C_Gordon" style="text-decoration: none;">Jean C. Gordon</a>
</h4>
<div class="giveaway_details">
Giveaway ends August 15, 2013.
<br />
See the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/60335" style="text-decoration: none;">giveaway details</a>
at Goodreads.
</div>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
</div>
<a class="goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink" href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/60335">Enter to win</a>
</div>
</div>
<script charset="utf-8" src="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/60335" type="text/javascript"></script>
<br />
<br />
<br />
The cover copy:<br />
<br />
Whitmore
Mills, a sleepy village in the Adirondack Mountains, is the last place
Mandy Harris would choose to spend her summer. She far prefers city
life. But the village needs a director for its summer recreation
program, and the deal is too good to pass up. The compensation includes a
grant to payoff her student loans, and the experience will look great
on her teaching resume. The only difficult part is her boss, Mayor
Whitmore.<br />
<br />
Thaddeus Whitmore is intent on vindicating his family
name and returning property to his dying hometown. His father plunged
the community into economic decline when he closed the family lumber
mill to meet the divorce demands of his “trophy” wife. Thad’s remedy is
to turn the old mill buildings into a highclass resort. He has
studiously planned for every imaginable obstacle except the arrival of
Mandy Harris.<br />
<br />
While Thad’s great Aunt Aggie plays matchmaker,
Mandy and Thad clash on everything, from her hiring, to her recreation
programs, to his resort plans. More than a few sparks fly in the
process. But are they enough to burn through Mandy and Thad’s
differences and ignite the flame of everlasting love?Jean C. Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078957977742428225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-47967307667521279622013-08-11T07:42:00.000-04:002013-08-11T07:52:26.208-04:00Days of Our Words--Television vs. Novels<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Always a fan of soap operas, my dream was to work on
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My neighbor happened to be a
songwriter and he introduced me to his managers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They got me a meeting at ABC and a deal to
write a sample script for General Hospital. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Happy Dance!</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Until they read the script and said I'd never work in
daytime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To ease my disappointment, I
wrote a YA novel about a 17 year old girl who becomes a star on a soap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Real Life I'm Just Kate</i>, now titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YJEWTE/" target="_blank">Just Kate</a>, </i>got me into daytime television and I worked in soaps for
a number of years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Having experienced both, I can now compare the two worlds
of writing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
If I sit down to write a novel, I'm on my own with complete
autonomy to make all artistic choices without input. In television, you have no autonomy and everyone including
the guy on the corner of 66<sup>th</sup> Street and Columbus Avenue who sells
Italian Ices out of a cart has input.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Life is a little dull here when I'm writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm at the computer and then for excitement I
visit my neighbors. Life in the television studio is never dull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's one crisis after another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
When I was the headwriter for NBC's show, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Doctors, </i>word came from the higher
ups that a character needed to be killed off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They weren't happy with the actor, or he wasn't happy with them, I'm not
quite sure was the problem was but he had to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Alec Baldwin and I didn't want to kill
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He's handsome, he did his job and
he was always nice to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What more can
you expect?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
I thought I would have to come up with a way to kill
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, I was told.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two guns would be fired at him from different
directions at the exact same moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
know what it looks like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A disembodied
gun coming around a door.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
I said to the producer "You can't be serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is the gun being aimed?"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
"Just write the scene."</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don't
necessarily have to make sense in television .</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
My romantic comedy, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0046A9O0W" target="_blank">Swept</a>, </i>will give you a sense of what goes on backstage on a daytime serial.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Z_YNv9UwUM/UgduvFsGPEI/AAAAAAAAEeI/PZ0ETVi-U08/s1600/sweptsigil1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Z_YNv9UwUM/UgduvFsGPEI/AAAAAAAAEeI/PZ0ETVi-U08/s320/sweptsigil1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Swept away on a tide of words, Ariel Robbins finds her life all too alarmingly coming to resemble the soap opera she works on. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are bizarre events, unforeseen twists, insane producers and a love interest so complicated, Dr. Dorsey Rees, that even Ari couldn't have created him. The more the television show spins out of control, the safer the harbor of Dorsey Rees is, but Ari can't navigate to him without hitting every damn rock in along the way. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
When all Ariel wants is Dorsey, has that ship sailed or is there a place at his dock for her?<br />
--Barbara Morgenroth</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-79839080880288771162013-07-05T21:26:00.000-04:002013-07-05T21:26:20.931-04:00Blending Fact and Fiction<br />
Writers are frequently asked: "How much of your fiction is based on the facts of your life?"<br />
<br />
If we follow the advice commonly given to writers, i.e., <strong>“Write what you know”,</strong> the answer to that would have to be "a lot". What most of us know best is our own life. We may not understand it, but we know it. It’s the world we inhabit on a daily basis. So, it’s good advice–and a good place to start. But how do we do that? Most of us don't live large, heroic lives, so how do we shape our small experiences into interesting stories? The story, <strong><em>Generation Unto Generation</em></strong>, contained in the collection <strong><em>A Perfect Wedding - </em></strong><a href="http://amzn.to/z5Dko7">http://amzn.to/z5Dko7</a> - is probably as close to an autobiography as anything I'll ever write, but even that isn't 100% fact. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fAFHVObNuGk/UddrrVqkomI/AAAAAAAAAlY/9gID6Gta0pU/s1600/A+Perfect+Wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" oya="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fAFHVObNuGk/UddrrVqkomI/AAAAAAAAAlY/9gID6Gta0pU/s320/A+Perfect+Wedding.jpg" width="247" /></a><br />
<br /><br />
I don’t claim to speak for all writers, but here’s how it works for me. I choose an experience that I find meaningful and, needing to share my feelings, I write about it. I portray it as faithfully as I can, but the wonder doesn’t come through. The words don’t do justice to the feeling. It’s mundane. So I embellish it. Add a little drama. It’s too personal. Will readers be able to relate to it? I change some of the details, hoping to make it more universal. Punch it up a bit. More details. More drama. Almost without realizing it, I take the essence of the experience and transform it into something new, something that I hope will convey my sense of wonder. My experience becomes fiction.<br />
<br />
A variation of that first piece of advice is: <strong>“Write what you <em>want </em>to know.”</strong> More good advice. <br />
<br />
Here, I might start with an event that makes no sense to me. I take an inexplicable action and try to understand it by creating a fictional scenario that explores the event from various angles. I make up characters who represent different facets of the puzzle and try to imagine it from their conflicting points of view. For me, one of the joys of writing fiction is immersing myself in another personality, whether it's the heroic figure I’d like to become or the villain I won’t let myself be. Still, even the most bizarre characters and events that I make up come from somewhere–something I’ve seen or heard or read about. <br />
<br />
There’s another option to writing about what you want to know. Suppose I decide to set my story in a time or place completely foreign to the world I inhabit. With enough <strong>research</strong>, that’s possible. I can look up facts to make any setting credible. However, I still have to use my<strong> imagination</strong> to blend the characters created from the world as I know it into the setting dictated by the facts of a different environment. <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nsCpa9-gugc/UddpwGeoFGI/AAAAAAAAAlI/SXPIvfRHmds/s1600/Fairy+Light-with+fairy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 253px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 203px;"><img border="0" height="320" oya="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nsCpa9-gugc/UddpwGeoFGI/AAAAAAAAAlI/SXPIvfRHmds/s320/Fairy+Light-with+fairy.jpg" width="246" /></a>Whatever type of story I’m writing, by the time that first germ of an idea has been molded into something I’m willing to share, I have a hard time drawing the line between fact and fiction. All I can hope is that, by <strong>blending the two, I’ve captured at least a bit of that elusive thing called truth.</strong></div>
<strong><br /></strong>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I find that the more I write, the less I rely on personal experience and the more I use my imagination. The first piece of fiction that I ever had published was a short story called <strong><em>All Is Calm.</em></strong> It’s about a family celebrating the holidays, filled with the stress that comes when you combine diverse personalities and traditions and . . . well, let’s just say that it’s based on some of the details of my family with quite a few invented details thrown in. That story is included in the included in the collection <strong><em>Beyond the Fairy Light</em></strong> - <a href="http://amzn.to/HYZREn">http://amzn.to/HYZREn</a> </div>
<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Sandy Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824301408180614516noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-39694105793401110902013-06-23T15:12:00.002-04:002013-06-23T15:17:19.597-04:00A Writer's Glamorous Life: Graciously Accepting Critique Despite Cellulite and Asymmetry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>By Sofie Couch</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vXMKeovlc8k/UcdHZb0BR8I/AAAAAAAAAqM/7N2F7EKiQpc/s1600/mrjones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vXMKeovlc8k/UcdHZb0BR8I/AAAAAAAAAqM/7N2F7EKiQpc/s320/mrjones.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Yes, it is a
glamorous sort of life. I’m sure some writers spend their days dictating their
novels from chaise lounges while eating chocolate bon-bons and sipping mint
juleps. Sadly, I wouldn’t know about that. I occasionally come out of the ivory
writing tower to do less glamorous things. Things like, window washing, and
dish drying, and laundry, and writing. Alone. In a hard chair. With the
curtains drawn to cut out distractions. Part of that glamorous life has
involved a trial by fire – in learning the delicate art of critique.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J4jo_0XqFV8/Ucc_R1IOSVI/AAAAAAAAApI/tjPNG4CUOpo/s1600/chaiselounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J4jo_0XqFV8/Ucc_R1IOSVI/AAAAAAAAApI/tjPNG4CUOpo/s200/chaiselounge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Attending
university in my thirties reminded me that it is still not quite common for a
woman over the age of twenty one, to take day classes at a four year
institution.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In my Life Drawing
class I had to fake knowledge of the art of “beer pong” with the lovely young
woman who sat on my right. I learned a thing or two about body piercings and
tattoos from the twenty year old gentleman to my left who had no less than
seven visual aids to go along with the discussion, two of which were attached
by a chain that ran from his lip to his nose. But the one thing we all had in
common was our mutual love of art – a passion that supersedes all differences
in age or background.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yRlU-QGbWok/Ucc_6XG4trI/AAAAAAAAApQ/P-JG6tGif_k/s1600/UVA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yRlU-QGbWok/Ucc_6XG4trI/AAAAAAAAApQ/P-JG6tGif_k/s200/UVA.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">University of Virginia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It wasn’t until
the final exam rolled around that the difference in our ages became an issue.
The assignment: execute a life-size self-portrait, in pencil… nude.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Being the most
senior member of the class, I was discreet in my gasp of horror. (I don’t think
anyone heard that grunt, the sort that comes a second after receiving a sucker
punch to the solar plexis.) While my classmates shrieked and moaned, I just put
one hand to my mouth and another to my stomach as the bile churned. (I would
later learn that was morning sickness, but that’s another “Glamorous Life of a
Writer” story.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Closing the
bedroom door at this point, suffice it to say, I completed the assignment and
the next and final class, I was determined to “grin and bear it” like an adult,
a mature lover of art in all its forms. I wouldn’t be childish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
What was I
thinking? I had forgotten the most important element of our class – the final
hour critique! <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L-rRoJcXv44/UcdCFWGPHRI/AAAAAAAAApg/h3R9NrXk93A/s1600/albrechtdurer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L-rRoJcXv44/UcdCFWGPHRI/AAAAAAAAApg/h3R9NrXk93A/s200/albrechtdurer.jpg" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Albrecht Durer, self-portrait</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">To further
complicate, this class was to be a two hour pot-luck mixer/critique session.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
So there we were
at the last class, all twenty students, all of us reluctant to put our “all”
out there, me holding my drawing rolled up in a tube in one sweaty hand and a
container of three dozen deviled eggs in the other. I put my plate of eggs on
the buffet table and walked to the cork-covered wall. Mr. Body Piercings put
his six-pack of beer on the buffet table and saddled up beside me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Psst. Did you do
the assignment?” he whispered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thirty percent of
our grade? You bet I did the assignment.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Whew.” He
pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. He was actually nervous about displaying
his nude self-portrait? The man who had had to shuck clothes to have piercings
and tattoos put in places where no one should be putting needles, was more
nervous about this assignment than I was. I felt smug and a dram of confidence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beer Pong Girl
came in, put her six pack of beer on the buffet table, grabbed a deviled egg,
and saddled up to Piercings and myself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did you two do
the assignment?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Piercings played
it cool. “Of course. It’s thirty percent of our grade.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beer Pong looked
him over from head to toe. “I guess we’ll see what else you got pierced.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He lifted his
shirt and pointed to six-pack abs. There was a silver loop in his belly button
attached to a chain that disappeared inside his waist band. I turned away to
grab a beer from the buffet table.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Students were slow
to trickle in that day, but as they did, the buffet table filled with six-packs
of beer and the lone dish of deviled eggs disappeared before class even began.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Until finally, the
moment of truth arrived. I would not hold back like some wall-flower school
girl at a dance. I unscrewed the cap from my portfolio tube, pulled out my
drawing and started pinning it on the wall, all six feet of 100% rag cotton
paper with push pins at the corners so it wouldn’t curl up out of modesty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRqqKOCFBrE/UcdCio_cfCI/AAAAAAAAApo/WBsmjByFJAw/s1600/curledpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRqqKOCFBrE/UcdCio_cfCI/AAAAAAAAApo/WBsmjByFJAw/s1600/curledpaper.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Piercings stepped
up beside me and unfurled his own drawing. I averted my eyes, fearful that that
much, that close, might be more than I could take. Beer Pong stepped up to my
other side and unfurled her drawing. I averted my eyes. I would not compare my
own self-portrait to the nubile, ninty-nine pound, post-teen beer pong
champion. I took interest in my shoes as I turned and walked away from the wall
of nudity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I was pleasantly
pleased with the initial responses from my classmates as I walked away from the
cork board. I heard “oohs” and “ahhs” and one “you go, girl,” and with less
reluctance, the other members of our class, with beer for fortitude, posted
their own work next to ours.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It wasn’t until I
was across the room that I felt like I had the strength to look at my body
hanging on the wall between the girl who looked like a cover model and the boy
who used his body as a tapestry for artistic expression.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I took a swig of
beer. (All the eggs were gone.) I looked up and….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I got an A+ on
that final exam and all of the critiques were positive – not a single
suggestion for possible changes. No one said anything about cellulite or
commented on the obvious asymmetry in the upper torso area. They were kind and everyone was EXTREMELY
complimentary of the “bold execution.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Mr. Piercings
probably received half credit, for the half of his body he did actually draw –
from the waist up. Ms. Beer Pong employed the artful use of a ladder back chair
to function as censor bars, and EVERY other blinkin’ drawing up there was fully
clothed!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
So, you see, the
inglorious life of a writer requires training. It requires fortitude. It `requires
beer, best served before you put your all up there on a wall for everyone to
see. When a writer puts something out there, it’s a bit of their soul, a slice
of something that they’ve kept private for a very long time. I still have the
asymmetry and the cellulite, but I “boldly execute” wherever I go.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qevmg2vmnIU/UcdGT4JWVoI/AAAAAAAAAp4/riGPAOTjH4A/s1600/sofiecouch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qevmg2vmnIU/UcdGT4JWVoI/AAAAAAAAAp4/riGPAOTjH4A/s200/sofiecouch.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vXMKeovlc8k/UcdHZb0BR8I/AAAAAAAAAqI/4IC90Gq2VRg/s1600/mrjones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vXMKeovlc8k/UcdHZb0BR8I/AAAAAAAAAqI/4IC90Gq2VRg/s200/mrjones.jpg" width="130" /></a><o:p> </o:p><span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Sofie Couch has
matured since her days at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Virginia</st1:placename></st1:place>. She writes
sweet romantic comedy, with fully clothed characters, some of whom struggle
with cellulite and asymmetry.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>You can read her latest novel, KEEPING UP WITH MR. JONES in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Up-With-Mr-Jones/dp/1481117181/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372014284&sr=8-1&keywords=Keeping+Up+With+Mr.+Jones" target="_blank">paperback</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Up-Mr-Jones-ebook/dp/B00B9P2RXI/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1372014284&sr=8-1&keywords=Keeping+Up+With+Mr.+Jones" target="_blank">e-copy</a> at Amazon and discriminating booksellers every where!</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
</div>
Sofie Couchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11702484708743477860noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-5139691063540804952013-06-21T10:06:00.005-04:002013-06-21T10:06:51.328-04:00My New Release--Lord Haversham Takes Command<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j1mhW7hZ0RY/UcRdkJgJyhI/AAAAAAAAFk4/61yCP38JzLU/s1600/Lord+Haversham+Takes+Command+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j1mhW7hZ0RY/UcRdkJgJyhI/AAAAAAAAFk4/61yCP38JzLU/s320/Lord+Haversham+Takes+Command+web.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lord Haversham feels as if he is always running, first from Lord and Lady Avery, his foolish parents, then from the consequences of a schoolboy prank gone awry. Now a secret service agent to the young Queen Victoria, he has run back to England from traitors who seek his life. Little does he know he is running into danger of a different kind; the perceptive, sapphire-blue gaze of his childhood love, Miranda Crenshaw. How is he to win her heart without giving away his secret and endangering the life of the Queen? </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mira's parents, Sir Anthony and Lady Crenshaw, had always assumed their daughter would wed her lifelong friend, Harry. However, when he returns to England after a long absence, gone is the boy they had known and loved. Instead he is Bertie, a silly fop exactly like his flibbertigibbet parents. As such, her parents feel obliged to wed her to George, the young Duke of Marcross, whom Mira despises. Instead, she dreams of the man Harry was meant to be. When she catches a glimpse of him beneath his silly facade, she must find a way to persuade her parents he is the man for her--before he once again runs out of her life.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Available TODAY as paperback or ebook! Click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Haversham-Takes-Command-Delacourt-ebook/dp/B00D6OM82U%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAJBDF5XQBATGDX4VQ%26tag%3Dspea06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00D6OM82U">HERE</a></span>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12660156433881882098noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-39317230484058857712013-06-19T20:20:00.002-04:002013-06-19T20:20:44.958-04:00<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHIxsPx2zPU/UcJKM8HNRhI/AAAAAAAAAHo/yryd_u3YMAo/s1600/The+Heart+Leads+Home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHIxsPx2zPU/UcJKM8HNRhI/AAAAAAAAAHo/yryd_u3YMAo/s1600/The+Heart+Leads+Home.jpg" /></a><br />
Just Released! The Heart Leads Home, a sweet contemporary romance by Sydell Voeller, Published by Books We Love<br />
<br />
Blurb: Sarah Pendleton, a first grade teacher in Portland, Oregon, feels
duty-bound as she returns to her hometown of Mistletoe Valley--and to
her conflicted past. While growing up in her small, rural community
Sarah lived with her grandparents, who served their community
well--especially her grandfather, a pastor. Yet Sarah despised being the
“perfect preacher’s kid” in a small town where everyone knew everyone
else’s business. Rebellious, she fell for a stereotypical “bad boy”
during high school and after graduation, they married. When they learned
she was pregnant, he left her for parts unknown. Unable to support the
baby, Sarah gave her up for adoption, yet ever since, guilt has consumed
her. She believes she doesn’t deserve to have a second chance at being
a mother again.<br /><br />Now a decade later, she is the sole inheritor of
her grandparents’ estate. She must decide whether to sell the
property, or make the painful choice of staying in a town where folks
remember her rebellious past. <br /><br />She meets the strikingly handsome
real estate agent Rich Stevens. He also works as a youth pastor at the
church where her grandfather had served. Her attraction to Rich is
immediate and powerful, but she’s faced with not one, but two prickly
thorns: He is a grieving widower, and his 8-year-old daughter, Carly, is
grieving too. He believes that there can never be another woman in his
life, and he can succeed in raising his daughter alone. <br /><br />Sarah
grapples with her own push-pull feelings for Rich. Should she hire him
to sell her grandparents’ property, knowing full well he’s more than
just a business acquaintance to her? Should she stay in Mistletoe
Valley, or go back to her job in Portland? The truth is, if she were to
fall in love with him, a man of the collar, she’d be right back to
where she started as a child—struggling in vain to live up to others’
expectations. Worse, Rich’s daughter, Carly, is the embodiment of the
baby she left behind, and if Sarah allows herself to get too close to
Carly, that would only complicate her feelings for Rich. <br />Can Sarah
and Rich overcome their personal demons and making a lasting commitment
to each other? Can the two of them—plus Carly--become a forever family?<br />
<br />
Buy Link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-Leads-Home-ebook/dp/B00DFAVVAK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371681604&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Heart+Leads+Home<br />
<br />
Also Available at Smashwords, B&N, and Kobo,<br />
<br />
Sydell's website: www.sydellvoeller.com Sydell Voellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02862642258281995462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-70478453885422876002013-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:002013-06-17T08:00:02.221-04:00Climbing Heartbreak Hill is now available!by Joselyn Vaughn<br />
<br />
Time to Celebrate!! <i>Climbing Heartbreak Hill</i> is now available!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IYpj6TaCMqE/Ubiwi9DH7AI/AAAAAAAAAa8/DDNakF3lVlU/s1600/ClimbingHeartbreakHill-JoselynVaughn-453x680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IYpj6TaCMqE/Ubiwi9DH7AI/AAAAAAAAAa8/DDNakF3lVlU/s320/ClimbingHeartbreakHill-JoselynVaughn-453x680.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6648742957853027198" name="OLE_LINK2"></a>Professional runner, Ryan Grant, blows out his knee training for another attempt at the Boston marathon and the dreaded Heartbreak Hill. Ryan retreats home, not looking for anything more than a fast recovery, but he finds solace in the arms of his tax preparer, Tara Mansfield.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tara’s cheerleading career ended abruptly and she faces an upward climb beating the stereotype as dumb blonde in her new calling as an accountant. Framed with defrauding the IRS during the last weeks of the tax season, Tara’s tentative confidence is shaken, but Ryan coaches her in ensnaring the true perpetrator. She cheers him on in discovering his identity as a coach rather than an athlete.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the help of the junkyard king and a mechanical bull, can Tara and Ryan find the courage to climb Heartbreak Hill together?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A portion of my proceeds from <i>Climbing Heartbreak Hill</i> will be donated to the <a href="https://secure.onefundboston.org/page/contribute/default">One Fund Boston</a> to help those injured at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buy Links:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Heartbreak-Hill-ebook/dp/B00CX20YLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369156247&sr=8-1&keywords=climbing+heartbreak+Hill">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/climbing-heartbreak-hill-joselyn-vaughn/1115383380?ean=2940016558783">Barnes and Noble</a> | <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/318504">Smashwords</a> | <a href="http://astraeapress.com/#!/~/product/category=662245&id=23861577">Astraea Press</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Excerpt:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tara tapped her foot while Ryan settled in the tank and</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
others lined up behind her for their chance to dunk him. A dollar</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
for three throws at the target. Tara reached for her purse, then</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
changed her mind. She bent and picked up Ryan’s coat. After a</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
quick search of the pockets, she found his wallet. Unfortunately, it</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
was devoid of cash. She flipped it closed, then opened it again to</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
peek behind the credit cards. Ah-ha! An emergency twenty. She</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
kept cash hidden to use only for an emergency, too. She slid the bill</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
out of the pocket and crushed it in her fist. If she didn’t let off some</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of this anger and disappointment, it would be an emergency.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She tossed the crumpled bill at the attendant and stepped up</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to the line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How many throws?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All of them,” Tara said, holding her hand out for the</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
marred softball. She rubbed her fingers over the crusty leather and</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stared at Ryan. A golden opportunity lost. She wound up and</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
chucked the ball. It went high and wide of the target. Someone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
behind her made a remark about throwing like a girl. Ryan gave</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
her a thumbs-up. <i>If he thought that was a good throw, he had another<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>thing coming</i>. He should think twice about encouraging her. She</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
needed a couple throws to get warmed up. She grabbed the next</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ball and wrapped her fingers around the seams.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You should take the job,” she muttered as she let this one</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
fly. It dinged the corner of the target, but not hard enough to</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
trigger the release. The ball ricocheted off the tank, and Ryan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
almost dunked himself when he flinched.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He might have said “what was that?” but Tara screwed up</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
her mouth and reached for another ball. She had been through</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
enough this week with the stress of tax season, Chuck’s demands,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and Ryan’s stupid, stupid obstinacy. “Lead me on, did you?” She</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
whipped the ball at the target. She missed again, this time nailing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the acrylic glass surround with a vicious thunk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Somebody’s got some anger issues,” the man behind her</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
said under his breath.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tara snatched another ball and whirled around on her heels.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She shoved the ball under his nose. “Unless you want this ball</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
blocking your next sneeze, you’ll keep your comments to yourself.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The man stepped back a full yard and put his hands up to</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
protect his ability to shoot germs from his nose.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you.” Tara pursed her lips and turned back to the</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
tank. She tightened her focus on the red bulls-eye. This time Ryan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
was hers. She whipped the ball with a caveman-like growl.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-66865407787634363112013-06-14T11:09:00.003-04:002013-06-14T11:09:36.998-04:00Marilyn Shank on the Casting Couch with Sheila Claydon<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7K4TNmJwAcM/UbswWGTNvII/AAAAAAAAANI/CxIfbPmAEZU/s1600/profilephoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7K4TNmJwAcM/UbswWGTNvII/AAAAAAAAANI/CxIfbPmAEZU/s320/profilephoto.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Marilyn Shank is sitting on the Casting Couch today, talking about her books and how she finds the characters that live in them. She says she can't write about them until they begin revealing themselves and if she get's it wrong they sulk. Well having read some of her books as well as the blurbs for the rest of them, all I can say is that she's one brave lady. Every one of her characters get into a lot of trouble one way or another, and talk about strong-minded…there isn't a single one who is any sort of a pushover.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
<strong>* * *</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Welcome Marilyn. I really enjoy meeting fellow writers on my Casting Couch and to get us started I'd like to know whether you work through the plot first and then cast the characters when an idea strikes, or is it characters first? Or does it vary?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>The characters always show up first. They begin revealing themselves and I get a vague idea of who they are. If I give them the wrong names, they won’t do anything but sulk. But when I change the name, bingo! They take action. I was a third of the way through one of my books when I woke up one morning and realized that my heroine was Irish. Her last name wasn't Mason, after all. It was O'Leary. By making that switch, Katie became much more real as a character. She had a stronger identity and so did her beloved grandparents who raised her. What a difference a name makes.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>My characters continue to reveal their personalities as the book develops. I've tried plotting and once I even made a detailed outline, but when I finished it I had no desire to write the book. I don't want to know what happens as the story unfolds. I let the characters supply that information.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>My last two books started in a really unusual way. The titles came first.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>That really is different. Can you give an example from a published story?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>Yes. When I read the headline <em>Daddy with a Deadline</em> on a cover story in the Kansas City Star one morning, it intrigued me, and I wondered what kind of book I could write using that particular title. I created a heroine who is pregnant with twins and whose husband doesn’t want the babies. Then the husband is in a serious accident and before he dies he asks his rancher friend to help Annie during the last month of her pregnancy. That’s how I approached working with that theme.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I noticed <em>Bride by Mistake</em> when I read through a listing of old movies and wondered if I could craft a story around that title. It's how the first of my identical twin books was born. I'm thrilled that <em>Bride by Mistake</em>, a Montlake Romance published by Amazon, has sold very well since it was released on January 8, 2013. And because I had so much fun writing<em> Bride by Mistake</em>, I wrote the second twin's story and call that book <em>Bride by Chance. </em>It will be released shortly.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>I'm so intrigued by that idea. It's going to have me looking at newspaper headlines in an entirely different way in future. When you start writing a book, which characters are the hardest for you to develop? Is it the hero, the heroine, the villain, or the secondary characters?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>For me, secondary characters are the hardest. Unfortunately, some of them decide to hijack the story and make it all about them. (I once had a manuscript rejected when a secondary character did exactly that.) But in spite of the danger, I enjoy creating secondary characters. I make them colorful by giving them unusual names or quirky habits. Often they own a cafe or bookstore and their presence defines the setting and adds local flavor. If a heroine’s best friend is a key player in the story, I make her less quirky and more like the heroine.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;"><strong>I love that one of your secondary characters got your book rejected for you. I thought my characters ruled my life but that is something else! When you need to decide how your characters should look do pictures inspire you or do you think of someone you know? Or perhaps you just rely on an active imagination or another method entirely. Have you ever based them on someone you know? </strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>My characters are never based on a picture or on anyone I know. The few times when I've cut out pictures and put them on my bulletin board, my muse turned up her nose and said, “Are you writing this book or am I?” She's actually quite rude and controlling!</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>Many readers like to use their imaginations on how the hero or heroine look. I know I do. Of the six books I have published, only one has a picture of the hero and heroine on the cover. And while the publisher tried hard to make a good cover, I prefer the ones that don't show pictures of the characters. Of course this is personal preference.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>I can identify with it though. I've written a book knowing exactly how my hero and heroine should look, only to find out that the cover designer had a different idea and I had a lot of adjusting to do. What about character traits though? Do you have a system for developing those? I know some people use Tarot or Astrology. Others produce detailed life histories. One writer I interviewed is so organized she even uses a Goal, Motivation and Conflict chart. What about you?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>At various times I've tried to turn myself into a plotter. Many writers swear by plotting and claim they can write many more books because they plot. So several years ago I bought a thick notebook entitled Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. I read the notebook from cover to cover, attempted to do some of the exercises, and wanted to shoot myself. I love to organize my home and my life, but when I try to organize or define my characters they revolt and run away. So I shrug my shoulders, turn the story back over to them, and it starts flowing again. Every writer has a different style that is perfect for them and makes them unique at their craft. I'm a seat-of-your-pants writer and I love it.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Me too Marilyn! Now just one more thing. Do you always like your characters? Are they people you would want to spend time with? Assuming they are not just a paper exercise, who, out of all the characters you have written about, would you most like to meet, and why?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>The characters I create are my friends. After all, they've let me into their lives and allowed me to tell their stories. I don't know much about them in Chapter 1, but as the book evolves I learn more and more. And if they trust me, they'll tell me their deepest secrets. But it's a process.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I would most like to meet Liza O’Malley, the heroine of my new book <em>Bride by Chance</em> (June, 2013). Liza’s a high-powered Kansas City attorney who can’t stand by and watch her identical twin Meg marry the wrong man.<em> (<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">Bride by Mistake</span>.)</em> So Liza reconnects Meg with her high school heartthrob then moves into Meg’s cottage and falls in love with “wrong man” herself. I like watching Liza start to relax as she slows her pace. Her personality changes as she realizes she’s missed out on a lot by becoming a workaholic.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>Stephen King and I think alike about character development and plotting. In his book <em>On Writing</em>, King says, “I…put a group of characters (perhaps a pair; perhaps even just one) in some sort of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free. My job isn’t to help them work their way free or manipulate them to safety – those are jobs which require the noisy jackhammer of plot – but to watch what happens and then write it down…. The situation comes first. The characters – always flat and unfeatured, to begin with – come next.”</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I love it when one character throws in a twist I didn't see coming. By the time I’m nearing the end of the book, I know all their dreams, conflicts and goals and how they will reach their goals. In real life, only our closest friends and family members reveal intimate details of their lives. It's a gift when people open their hearts and trust us with their stories.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Who could ever disagree with Stephen King. His advice is always so good and you have certainly taken it to heart because the characters in your books really do come alive for you don't they? I also love that you think of them as a gift and that you keep on talking to them right to the end of each book. Thank you so much for sharing them with me.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
<strong>* * *</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Marilyn Shank worked as a legal secretary, office manager, proofreader, and editor before discovering her true passion: writing romance and romantic comedy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and has taught writing workshops in public schools and libraries. Among Marilyn’s favorite pastimes are reading, amateur radio operation, and traveling the world with her husband John. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in Independence, Missouri.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>You can find her at <a data-mce-href="http://www.marilynshank.com/" href="http://www.marilynshank.com/">http://www.marilynshank.com</a> and all her books are available at <a data-mce-href="http://amzn.to/14wzDRj" href="http://amzn.to/14wzDRj">http://amzn.to/14wzDRj</a></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<b>Sheila Claydon's books are available at <a href="http://amzn.to/101Cg0E">http://amzn.to/101Cg0E</a></b></div>
Sheila Claydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499631964600996650noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-68275581593507917452013-06-06T22:46:00.000-04:002013-06-06T22:46:40.377-04:00Preview of Upcoming New Release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cacsw8iuSDY/UbFIzye_-7I/AAAAAAAAAgI/wHIEz_9_f4M/s1600/twoi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cacsw8iuSDY/UbFIzye_-7I/AAAAAAAAAgI/wHIEz_9_f4M/s200/twoi.jpg" width="125" yya="true" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
The Women of Independence</h4>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
by Mona Ingram<o:p></o:p></h4>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">BOOK ONE:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Loving From Afar<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Prologue<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Dani tightened the last screw on the bracket, mounted the fan, and slipped the screwdriver back into her tool belt. “Much better,” she said, with a satisfied bob of her head. “That’ll help to vent the place.” She poked at the double layer of poly that covered the domed greenhouse. “It’s a great setup.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Thanks to you.” Allison smiled at her friend. “You know, it’s been years, and I still can’t believe you run a successful construction company. What did you say you have lined up for your next project?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Mr. And Mrs. Berkshire’s sunroom. They’ve asked me to tear off the old one and build them a snazzy new one.” She watched the air sweep over the seedlings in the greenhouse. “I’m looking forward to it. Did you say the airflow from the fan is actually good for the seedlings?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Allison was accustomed to her friend’s abrupt changes of subject. “Yes.” She wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “The air strengthens them while moderating the temperature.” She tugged on a pulley at the end of the greenhouse and opened a 2’x2’ flap on the end wall. The vents had been Danielle’s idea when she put the structure together. She’d installed one vent at each end to catch the gentle breezes that swept through the valley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“The Berkshires. They’re Timothy’s parents, aren’t they?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“That’s right. Really nice people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Did you ask them about Timothy?” Allison forced herself to look her friend in the eye. “About where he is now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“I didn’t have to ask. They were eager to tell me all about him. He’s in Vancouver and doing well. He works for a company down there that provides services to the television and film industries. Apparently he scouts locations and stuff like that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Huh.” Allison picked up a handful of potting soil and closed her fist around it. In the heat of the greenhouse, the Pro Mix dried out quickly. She’d have to dampen it down again before she did any more transplanting. She raised her head. “Back in high school, was I the only one who didn’t know that Timothy was gay?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Dani lifted her shoulders. “I can’t honestly say that I knew, either. He didn’t come out or anything.” She raised an eyebrow. “Cole never said anything?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Allison shook her head. “Nope.” There was a catch in her throat. “I thought we shared everything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Guys are different about stuff like that. Anyway, it was what...ten, eleven years ago? People weren’t so open.” She turned thoughtful. “Timothy was lucky that Cole befriended him. He needed all the protection he could get. I think the other kids sensed he was different, even if he never confirmed it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">A wry smile twisted Allison’s lips. “Yeah, Cole was like that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Danielle paused, and took a deep breath. “He’s back, you know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Allison’s head came up sharply. “Timothy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“No. Cole.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“And just how long were you going to wait to tell me?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Danielle grinned. “I’m telling you now.” Her smile faltered “I hear his father’s been ill.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Why haven’t I heard that?” Allison frowned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Because you hide yourself out here? Because you have no social life anymore? Just the other day, Faith was just saying she hasn’t seen you in over a month.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“What about you? When was the last time you were out on a date?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Oh, no you don’t.” Dani’s eyes flashed. “This isn’t about me. And don’t tell me that going out with Mark counts as a date. You two are just propping each other up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“No fair! I–”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Dani shook her finger. “You shouldn’t tell me these things if you don’t want them to come back at you.” She looked at her watch. “I have to go.” She walked out the wide greenhouse door and looked at the long, straight rows of black plastic, ready to receive the seedlings. She turned slowly. “He looks hot, Al. I scarcely recognized him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Allison closed her eyes and let her head fall back. The sweep of air from the fan cooled her momentarily, but it would take more than a fan to cool down what she still felt for Cole Slater.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Dani’s tone was gentle when she spoke again. They’d known each other too long; had helped each other survive too many emotional train wrecks. “I thought I’d better warn you,” she said softly, then climbed into her pickup truck and headed up the long driveway to the road that ran along the high side of the valley.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Cole found himself on the twisting road that led through Hidden Valley. The road surface was lumpy and badly patched, much as it had been when he was a teenager. The difference was that his bike was bigger now, and it took the twists and turns with ease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">He knew that Allison had bought a place out here, but he wasn’t ready to see her yet... if ever. She was growing flowers, of all things. Flowers for drying. Evidently she made them into bouquets and sold them all over the Okanagan. He told himself he wasn’t looking for her place, but even so, he noticed the sign by her driveway as he roared past. It wasn’t large, as signs went, but it didn’t need to be, considering that she didn’t encourage visits from the public. It read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Flower Farm</i>. He caught a glimpse of rows of black plastic as he passed, and smiled to himself. It was difficult to picture Allison farming...even if it was flowers. As far as he could remember... and he remembered everything... she’d never shown any interest in gardening. But that was all so long ago...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Lost in memories, he found himself at Green Lake in no time at all. He and Allison had come out here a lot when they were young. The numerous beaches along Okanagan Lake were a magnet for tourists as well as the locals, and as a result, they generally had Green Lake to themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">He parked the bike and squeezed through the turnstile gate, heading for what he still thought of as “their” spot. Ponderosa pines offered shade, and the sweet scent of resin filled his nostrils. Dried pine needles crackled underfoot and memories engulfed him. He sat down at the edge of the steep hill leading down to the lake, and took it all in. Very little had changed since the last time he was here. The place was silent, except for some intermittent birdsong. He braced his arms on raised knees and lowered his head. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on those days. His father was ill... probably dying... and he needed to keep himself strong for the ordeal that lay ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">So why had he come here, where memories of his time with Allison were the strongest? Why was he torturing himself, wondering what might have been?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The answer was obvious, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He’d never gotten over her. Never gotten over the shock of what had happened. Back then, his father had been dating a nice woman. Cole had driven home, told his dad that he was leaving, and taken off like a bat out of hell. Taken off to make a new life for himself; a life where he controlled the outcome, a life where he wouldn’t have his heart ripped to shreds by a woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The distinctive chatter of a Kingfisher brought his head up. He searched the trees along the edge of the lake but couldn’t spot it. It didn’t matter; just knowing the bird was there was comforting. It meant that there were still fish in the lake. Some things, at least, had stayed the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">He’d loved growing up here in Independence. The other guys his age had talked constantly about getting out, about going to a larger town, but he’d been content. His mother had died when he was young; he scarcely remembered her. His dad had lived by the Golden Rule and expected him to do the same. It had seemed corny at the time; corny and old fashioned, but as Cole grew older, he’d come to appreciate his father’s wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">They’d lived in a small mobile home park that was tucked into one of the narrow valleys that ran roughly parallel to the lake. There’d been those few months right after his mother died, when his father hadn’t known what to do, but other than that, Marty Slater had done a great job of raising him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The fact that his father had smoked all his life was catching up with him now. Since he’d left home, he’d managed to see his father a couple of times a year. His father usually came to Vancouver Island, where Cole ran a successful business, but when he’d arrived back in town yesterday, he’d been shocked to see the rapid deterioration in his dad's health. These days, Marty Slater spent most of his time in a big recliner facing the television; Cole could tell by the way he’d gathered everything on two side tables. Books, remote controls, cell phone, tissues, and the pain pills he’d tried unsuccessfully to conceal. Loose, baggy clothing could not hide the fact that he’d lost a lot of weight. Cole wondered idly if the doctor would give him an estimate of how much longer. Probably not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Jesus,” he said aloud, and dropped his head again. It was almost too much to take in. He’d always been aware that his father flirted with lung cancer every time he lit up, but he was only in his mid-fifties. It was too soon for him to die. He wondered if Allison knew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">He pushed himself to his feet. Damn her for creeping into his thoughts at a time like this! But then whose fault was that? He’d been an idiot to think that by coming here, where they’d shared so much, he could face up to the past and get her out of his system. This was where they’d dreamed of a future together and every thought led him back to that time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">A loon warbled on the lake, but he didn’t look. He had to get going, get away from this memory-laden place. Besides, the community nurse was coming to check on his father right after lunch, and he wanted to be there when she arrived. The nurse might be more forthcoming about his dad’s prognosis than the doctor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Reflection from the black plastic caught his eye as he rounded a corner. He knew the road well, and this was where he’d seen Allison’s sign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">He slowed his bike, knowing he shouldn’t, but something compelled him. He tore off his helmet, braced his feet on the loose gravel at the top of her driveway, and looked down at her place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Movement in the greenhouse drew his eye, and a woman emerged. At first he wasn’t sure. The woman was about the right age, but there was something different about her; about the way she carried herself. The bright aura that had always surrounded Allison was missing from this woman. And yet... there was something achingly familiar about her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The woman raised a hand, as though to wave at him... or was that wishful thinking? She fussed with her hair, then shaded her eyes and looked directly at him. And then he knew. This was Allison. The bond they’d developed a decade ago still pulsed between them. He could see it in her eyes, even from this far away, and it scared the hell out of him. They stared at each other for a long, intense minute. Then he replaced his helmet, started the bike and drove off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Allison invariably looked up when she heard a motorcycle. Some people, like her friend Faith, looked to the sky when they heard an airplane; with Allison it was motorcycles. She pretended she didn’t know why she looked, but she wasn’t kidding anyone, especially herself. Cole had bought a motorcycle as soon as he was old enough to get a permit, and ever since, the sound made her heart leap into her throat; made her pulse speed up a little. Her reaction had mellowed over the years, but it was still there, springing to life every time she heard that distinctive sound. She’d always believed that he would come back one day, even though things could never be the same. Too much time had passed for that, but she still hoped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The motorcycle had stopped at the top of her driveway. The driver braced himself, removed his helmet and looked down at her. He made no sign of recognition, but he didn't need to; she knew it was Cole. She raised a hand to wave, then caught herself just in time and raked her fingers though her hair. If she waved and he rejected her now, her heart would break.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">She shaded her eyes and stared at him, willing him to come down the driveway and say hello. The longing to see him again, to hear his voice, to feel his touch, was almost more than she could bear. She knew he’d been up at Green Lake. It had been their spot to go and talk; the fact that he’d been out there must count for something.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Or not. He drove away and she dropped her hand, defeated. It was clear from the way he’d looked at her that he still found her repulsive. Tears burned behind her eyes. How could she have allowed herself to think that he might still feel something for her? She tossed her gloves onto the potting table in the greenhouse, grabbed a clean rag from the box by the door and headed for the creek that ran through her property.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 17pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Jones Creek meandered down the bottom of the valley, through town, and eventually emptied into Okanagan Lake. Home to trout, muskrat, a few mink, and duck families in spring, there was always something to see along the creek’s edge. She headed for one of the old chairs set up under the willows and used the rag to wipe away bird droppings and leaves. It had become her favourite spot on the property, and at this moment, she needed the calming influence of the burbling water and the soft sway of the willow leaves more than ever. Seeing Cole had stirred up too many old emotions, both good and bad. Memories that seemed like they’d happened only yesterday...</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Thanks for reading</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Estimated release date:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">28 June, 2013</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 17pt;">
<br /></div>
Mona Ingramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15900341184096736960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-75175533696867577952013-05-24T08:00:00.000-04:002013-05-24T10:12:00.676-04:00Tracey Sorel on the Casting Couch with Sheila Claydon<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<h1 style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><em> Zinfandelity</em> by Tracey Sorel</strong></h1>
<div>
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<h1 style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>(March 2013)</strong></h1>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcEEm01_J-M/UZY6PUetr3I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/nR6P0S6YtWU/s1600/Zinfandelity4_850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcEEm01_J-M/UZY6PUetr3I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/nR6P0S6YtWU/s320/Zinfandelity4_850.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>What better way to think about a new book than over a glass of wine. And that's what Tracey did when she started to write <em>Zinfandelity. </em>At the time she lived in the lovely wine-infused area of Livermore where she quickly discovered what wine tasting and living in a wine region was all about...and from this came <em>Zinfandelity</em>. One look at the picture on the cover is enough to draw the reader into a story that's about women supporting one another while not forgetting that they need romance (and wine) in their lives.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>I am so pleased you agreed to sit on my Casting Couch, Tracey. Now I want to hear all about your latest book.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>What prompted the idea for this book?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I was standing in line at a Wine festival in Northern California, waiting for a bus to take my friends and me to the next winery for a tasting, when we began to pass the time by coming up with fun names for wine labels. One thing led to another and the Zinfandelity title became the jumping off point for the first book in my Wine Country Vixens series. And I just love the idea of writing about a group of friends who gather a few times a month to taste wine and chat about their lives. The tag line “Debbie Macomber meets Desperate Housewives in wine country” kept haunting me too! What could be better than combining those two elements into a series?</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;"><strong>I absolutely love your jumping off point for <em>Zinfandelity, </em>Tracey. And I'm sure all the women I know would agree with me. Wine, chatting, girlfriends, and thinking about the next book...what's not to like! Did you work through the plot first and then cast the characters, or was it characters first?</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>The characters came first. I knew <em>Zinfandelity</em> was going to be about a woman in her early thirties faced with her husband’s infidelity. I also had an idea for a group of women by her side helping Beth survive her marriage breaking up.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Marriage break up and infidelity are not easy subjects to write about. Which characters were the hardest for you to develop and why?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I think the hardest thing for me was not creating the characters so much as coming out of my historical voice and developing a contemporary one. I’ve been published in historical romance for over a decade under my real name Tracey J Lyons. Having written with the mid-1800s as the setting for my books and then having to jump forward to the present day was a challenge for me because I had to think in the present. And believe it or not, every once in a while I’d find an historical phrase or two popping up in my contemporary work!</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>I could see how that would be a problem because I know I would have a real difficulty making a move in the opposite direction. How did you decide how your characters should look? Did pictures inspire you or did you just rely on an active imagination? Maybe you even based them on someone you know or someone you saw walking down the street. Do tell!</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I think, as writers, there are certain characters we develop and right away we know how they will look. For me I do have a general idea of hair color, eye color, height etc., but to make a character stand out I might add a scar, or think about skin tones to set them apart from the other characters. And yes, sometimes I do use characteristics from people I know. Everyone has a family member who stands out from the rest and would make a great model character! I have also gone straight to magazines, particularly when developing my hero, Peter O’Malley. I do have issues of a certain magazine’s most beautiful people in my office right now!</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>That sounds a distracting magazine to have around. I won't ask how often you have to have another peep at it. How did you develop their character traits? I know some people use Tarot or Astrology. Others produce detailed life histories. One writer I interviewed is so organized she even uses a Goal, Motivation and Conflict chart. What about you?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I’ve tried charting and am not organized enough to keep it up to date! I do keep a note book for each book or series that I’m working on so all of the key elements are there, easy to find…when I can find the darned thing in the pile of stuff on my desk! Seriously, I think writers will always take traits from people they’ve met, or even live with, and use them in their work. And let’s face it, some of those traits we know very well and they don’t need to be kept track of because they just flow from our consciousness naturally.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;"><strong>I certainly agree with that. If we weren't interested in other people's characters then we wouldn't have chosen to be writers in the first place. Characteristics are one thing though. A character's goals are another entirely. Can you sum your characters’ goals <em>Zinfandelity</em> in a word or two, or are they multi-layered? Did they keep to their original goals or did things change as you wrote the book? If they did, then please give some examples.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>Beth Chadwick has a clear goal from the get go; to flesh out her husband’s cheating ways. Then she sets out to prove to her family that she can stand on her own. She knows that once she proves her husband has been cheating on her that she won’t do what her mother and grandmother did, she will not “stand by her man”.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Just learning that she has to fight her mother and grandmother as well as her husband makes me want to read the book right away. No wonder Beth needs her friends. One of my usual questions is about motives because they drive a character, but I guess Beth's are fairly obvious. How did you deal with developing them as you wrote the book?</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>Beth’s motives are pretty clear cut from the beginning. In the revision stages of the book, however, I realized they needed to be more defined. I don’t want to give any spoiler alerts, but she does learn she has the strength to stand on her own two feet.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Seeing the heroine grow throughout a story is always good. See, I haven't read the book yet and I'm already rooting for Beth. So, on to the last question, do you like the characters in your book? Are they people you would want to spend time with and if so, which one is your favourite, and which one would you most like to meet and why? That might be the same person of course, but there again, it might not!</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong>I love all the characters in <em>Zinfandelity</em>. Okay, maybe not the husband, Dirk, and sometimes not Beth’s mother. I really want Beth’s best friend, Madge, to be my best friend! She’s fun and pretty, but most important she’s loyal and nonjudgmental. If I weren’t so in love with my husband I’d like to meet the hero of this book, Peter O’Malley. Then again aren’t all of our heroes based on the men we love? So maybe I’ve already met him….</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #333399;" style="color: #333399;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">
<strong>Thanks so much for sharing the back story to <em>Zinfandelity</em>, Tracey. And for letting us know that it is the first book in your <em>Wine Country Vixens</em> series. I hope another one will be out soon. A group of women supporting one another over wine and chat is something I can certainly relate to and I am sure others can too. You had such a great idea when you wrote <em>Zinfandelity</em>. I hope it's on sale in the winery that started it all.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><a data-mce-href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/2013/05/20/casting-couch-tracey-sorel/tracey-lyons-1305-hr-color-4/" href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/2013/05/20/casting-couch-tracey-sorel/tracey-lyons-1305-hr-color-4/" rel="attachment wp-att-4482"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4482" data-mce-src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tracey-Lyons-1305-HR-Color3-200x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tracey-Lyons-1305-HR-Color3-200x300.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left;" title="Tracey Lyons-1305-HR-Color" width="200" /></a></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>An avid lover of books and wine, Tracey has been writing romances for almost thirty years. She holds membership in Romance Writers of America, Novelists Inc. and Liberty States Fiction Writers. Tracey and her husband live in downstate New York with two dogs and four chickens. When not busy writing, and wine tasting, she is busy making her husband crazy with renovations on their 1800’s farm house. To learn more about the Wine Country Vixen series visit <a data-mce-href="http://www.traceysorel.com/" href="http://www.traceysorel.com/">www.TraceySorel.com</a>. </strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Visit Tracey on Facebook at <a data-mce-href="http://www.facebook.com/traceysorelauthor" href="http://www.facebook.com/traceysorelauthor">www.facebook.com/traceysorelauthor</a>.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Tracey is also published in historical romance. You can learn more about these books by visiting <a data-mce-href="http://www.traceylyons.com" href="http://www.traceylyons.com/">www.traceylyons.com</a>.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>You can find my books at <a data-mce-href="http://amzn.to/101Cg0E" href="http://amzn.to/101Cg0E">http://amzn.to/101Cg0E</a></strong></div>
Sheila Claydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499631964600996650noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632249142954767681.post-29823750309545228762013-05-20T08:00:00.000-04:002013-05-20T08:00:11.680-04:00Sarah Richmond on The Casting Couch<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Sarah Richmond is sitting on my casting couch today so that I can ask her about her book <em>A Most Ineligible Suitor (Nov 2012) </em>Published by Montlake Romance, it is available in paperback and as an ebook at <a data-mce-href="http://amzn.to/15VFE0i" href="http://amzn.to/15VFE0i">http://amzn.to/15VFE0i</a></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a data-mce-href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/2013/05/13/sarah-richmond-casting-couch/a-most-ineligible-suitorpix-1/" href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/2013/05/13/sarah-richmond-casting-couch/a-most-ineligible-suitorpix-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-4357"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4357" data-mce-src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/A-Most-Ineligible-SuitorPix-1-199x300.png" height="300" src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/A-Most-Ineligible-SuitorPix-1-199x300.png" style="border: 0px; float: left;" title="A Most Ineligible SuitorPix #1" width="199" /></a>The story is a fascinating one. </span>On a grand tour to Italy with her cousin, wealthy heiress Marjorie Mayweather is braced for the adventure of a lifetime. After all, this is her chance for one last fling before surrendering herself to Frederick Clive-Bickerton, the well-heeled bachelor intent on marrying her.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>But Frederick is the last thing on Marjorie’s mind when she meets the dashing yet chilly Captain Edward Grainger, a fellow resident at the Pensione Ferretti. Vexed by his indifference and enchanted by his ice-blue gaze, she finds herself magnetically drawn to this strangely private gentleman.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Edward must keep his distance, no matter how alluring he finds Marjorie to be. For he’s not really a military captain at all—he’s an undercover agent in pursuit of a notorious jewel thief reported to be staying at the pensione. Can Edward maintain his ruse long enough to nab the criminal among them…or will the affections of a young debutante unravel his entire investigation?</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Now I want to find out why Sarah wrote this book.</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
<strong>* * *</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Hi Sarah. Thank you for agreeing to sit on my casting couch. I love the cover for <em>A Most Ineligible Suitor</em>. The heroine looks so elegant. What prompted the idea for this book?</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>While on a visit to Lucca in Italy, we visited Puccini’s home. I wanted to write about a heroine who lived in the same era. Puccini wrote in the ‘verisimo’ or realism style. His plays show brutality and violence, poverty and want. My heroine has been sheltered. She knows nothing of the world outside her small circle of wealth and privilege. Her trip to Italy is an eye-opener for her.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>Another inspiration came from a painting by John Singer Sargent called ‘Group with Parasols’. The light he used reminded me of Italy. The ladies in the scene are dressed in white linen and are enjoying an outdoor picnic, something my heroine would love to do.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Your inspiration for this book really resonates with me Sarah because a few years ago I was lucky enough to visit Lucca myself. I was also a guest at the annual <em>Puccini on the Lake </em>festival in nearby Torre del Lago. A moonlit evening spent listening to Puccini's Tosca at the outdoor theatre on the lake while bats swooped above the opera singers was a magical experience. I would imagine that Marjorie Mayweather would have enjoyed it too. What a wonderful setting you have chosen for your book.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Tell me, how did you develop the story? Did you work through the plot first and then cast the characters, or was it characters first?</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>I always decide on the story I want to tell and then pick the characters who best help show the elements of the story.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>In <em>A Most Ineligible Suitor</em>, the heroine is on holiday with a distant cousin. She is very much a free spirit who has escaped to a country with fewer social restrictions than she is used to and with a decorum different from English society. She is having the time of her life.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>The hero is an Englishman. He is in disguise and his purpose for being in Italy—to catch an international jewel thief--is complicated by her antics. He is not comfortable about being dishonest with her, and yet he has a duty to his profession to pretend to be someone he isn’t.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>What she teaches him about life and love is the theme of the story.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Which characters were the hardest for you to develop and why? </strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em></em><span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;">The male point of view is always more difficult for me. The challenge is to make the hero strong without being brutal, decisive without being unkind. The reader must understand his motivation, even sympathize with his flaws, but he can never be pitiful or weak.</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>How did you decide how your characters should look, especially Marjorie, who had to look true to her time?</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>There are many wonderful websites that show pictures of the ladies in the late Victorian era. I especially took note of the couture dresses and bridal dresses of the times, which are a delight. <a data-mce-href="http://www.victoriana.com/" href="http://www.victoriana.com/"><span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;">www.Victoriana.com</span></a> is one of my favorite websites to visit.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong> Do you have a trick to help you develop your characters’ traits?</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>I rely on <em>Heroes and Heroine</em> by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders. When I have a heroine in mind, I look through H and H and find the worst possible traits in a hero for her to fall in love with which leads to all kinds of delicious conflict.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>I've not heard of that Sarah. It sound fascinating and I love that you search for the worst possible traits in your hero. You don't make it easy for the heroine do you? Are there other things you also do to develop their personalities?</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>I also use people I have met on my travels. Some characters are a combination of traits of the people I have known.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>Marjorie is a misfit in some ways and doesn’t realize why until she comes to Italy.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>Edward, having been raised in a strict household with no mother, doesn’t know how to express love. He may not even know, in the beginning, what love is.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>All characters have goals. Can you sum your characters’ goals in <em>A Most Ineligible Suitor</em> in a word or two, or are they too multi-layered?</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>They have short term external goals: Edward is trying to catch a thief while Marjorie is on vacation and wants to see the sites. Overlaying those, however, are their long term internal goals: To love and find love.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Do you like the characters in this book? Are they people you would want to spend time with and if so, which one is your favorite, and which one would you most like to meet and why? </strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em></em><span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;">Marjorie introduces herself this way: “My name is Marjorie Mayweather and people tell me I have a sunny disposition. Who wouldn’t with a name such as Mayweather?”</span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>I like a heroine who can be at ease with people, probably because I have always been rather shy. She’s smart. She knows in her circle she must act totally defenseless so that the suitor will feel manly. This does not bother her until she meets the hero. He understands her better than she understands herself.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>Meeting the right man makes all the difference!</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>As for who I’d like to meet, the villain of the story is my most favorite character of all. He is so much fun to read about and to try to figure out a motivation, or what possible reason there must be for such bad behavior. I could have such a good conversation with my villain, I think.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Wow! You really want to meet your villain! That makes you a very brave writer. I always want to consign my villains to the devil. It's been fun talking to you Sarah. Your book sounds a great read.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000080;" style="color: navy;"><strong>Thank you for this opportunity to talk about <em>A Most Ineligible Suitor</em>. I had so much fun writing the book.</strong></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
<strong>* * *</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><a data-mce-href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/2013/05/13/sarah-richmond-casting-couch/abae6b15ef8f0ad8976f2f-l-_v160346112_sy470_/" href="http://sheilaclaydon.com/2013/05/13/sarah-richmond-casting-couch/abae6b15ef8f0ad8976f2f-l-_v160346112_sy470_/" rel="attachment wp-att-4360"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4360" data-mce-src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/abae6b15ef8f0ad8976f2f.L._V160346112_SY470_-199x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://sheilaclaydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/abae6b15ef8f0ad8976f2f.L._V160346112_SY470_-199x300.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left;" title="abae6b15ef8f0ad8976f2f.L._V160346112_SY470_" width="199" /></a></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Multi-published author Sarah Richmond is Winner of the Hearts Through History 'Romance Through the Ages' and an EPPIE finalist.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>She loves to tell stories about women in historical settings,the unique challenges they faced and the men they loved.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Sarah lives in Southern California and is a member of RWA-San Diego and East Valley Authors.</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>Visit Sarah online to read more about her books at <a data-mce-href="http://www.sarahrichmond.com/" href="http://www.sarahrichmond.com/">www.sarahrichmond.com</a></strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>You can find my books at <a data-mce-href="http://amzn.to/ZSyLpf" href="http://amzn.to/ZSyLpf">http://amzn.to/ZSyLpf</a> </strong></div>
Sheila Claydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499631964600996650noreply@blogger.com4